International Dance Day: NCPA’s Mudra Festival Celebrates Layered Storytelling Through Dance

What if the most powerful stories weren’t spoken, but danced? In an age saturated with noise, dance remains a strikingly silent yet evocative storyteller. Its language doesn’t rely on words, but on rhythm, expression, stillness, and costume. Across cultures and generations, it has told tales of gods and lovers, of longing and resilience—narratives etched not on pages but in muscle memory.

This month in Mumbai, as dancers take to stages across the city to mark International Dance Day, audiences are rediscovering this ancient language. At the heart of many performances is the exploration of Aharya—the visual aesthetic of dance, including costume, jewellery, and makeup—not as adornment, but as a storytelling tool. Yes, we are talking about NCPA’s Mudra dance festival, which has been happening throughout April in Mumbai.

The story is the soul!

For years, stories have been told through different art forms, and dance has been at the forefront of it. Whether it is the celestial narratives of Bharatanatyam or the mythological stories told through Kathak. Classical forms like Odissi and Kuchipudi have also preserved cultural legends, bringing them to life through movement and expression. Theatrical representations, such as Kathakali and Manipuri, further elevate these stories, blending dance with dramatic storytelling to create immersive experiences.

At performances across the city this month, you will find many such stories unfolding. “The word Kathak itself comes from ‘katha’—story,” explains Saswati Sen, who has been performing for decades and trained under the legendary Pandit Birju Maharaj. “We don't just enact a character; we embody it. The dance becomes the language through which we express pain, joy, longing, humour—all of it.”

Beyond myth, today’s dancers are increasingly using classical movement vocabulary to tell contemporary and personal stories, too. A single head tilt can hint at vulnerability, while a sudden stop mid-spin can echo a moment of reckoning. It’s a form of communication that often transcends spoken language, touching even those unfamiliar with its tradition.

Sen recalls the experience of reinterpreting iconic film choreographies created by her guru and Lachchu Maharaj: “We translated those cinematic moments for the stage. In doing so, we weren’t just replicating—they became new stories, shaped by our rhythm and feeling. Audiences connected deeply, even if they hadn’t seen the originals.”

She adds, “Kathak is inherently a storytelling art. Through gestures, facial expressions, movement, and sometimes even speech, we depict tales from mythology, nature, and even modern life.” This duality of rootedness and relevance keeps classical dance alive in today’s world.

This same spirit of storytelling drives productions like Beeja – Earth Seed, presented by Padma Shri Malavika Sarukkai, which contemplates humanity’s impact on the planet through Bharatanatyam. A cosmic concern, narrated in mudras and movement.

Beyond the stage

While dance creates stories through movement and expression, some artists interpret those stories through other forms, capturing their essence in ways that transcend the performance itself. One such artist is Subodh Poddar, whose dancescapes—black ink sketches of dancers mid-motion—bring an entirely new dimension to the dance experience.

Poddar’s art isn’t about freezing the moment; it’s about following the emotional arc of the movement. "Dance challenged me as a sketch artist," he says. "Watching dancers on stage began to ignite something in me—they posed a challenge I couldn’t resist: how do you capture such fleeting, graceful moments on paper?”

What started as hurried sketches on Mumbai local trains has now evolved into large-format paintings created while watching live performances. His sketches don’t attempt to capture a dancer’s technique alone—they preserve the emotion and spirit of the movement, making the connection to the dance even more profound.

Poddar’s work at the festival is a perfect complement to the theme of storytelling. “My first exhibition happened at NCPA, and my first live demonstration was on one of its stages. It was an unforgettable show.”

“For me, NCPA is a dream space. Being invited back here to showcase my work again is an honour I truly cherish. What makes it even more special is that the works I’ll be presenting span years of inspiration drawn from some of the most eminent dancers—dancers who have moved me, and moved my brush,” he adds.

Listening with your eyes

To truly understand dance, you must watch with more than your eyes. You must feel with your heart. The real power of dance lies not just in choreography or technique. It’s in how a gesture can whisper longing, how silence between steps can speak volumes.

“I remember a dancer portraying a mother saying goodbye to her child. I didn’t know the myth behind it, but I felt it,” says Ritika Shah, a regular at such dance festivals. “That’s what stayed with me—not the technique, but the emotion.” That’s the essence of dance—it’s not the details that matter, but the emotional truth conveyed through each movement. The graceful arc of a hand, the flicker of an eye, the delicate pause in a spin—all these small moments accumulate to create an emotional experience far more powerful than words.

Similarly, Ankit Choudhary, 29, who was a first-timer at a dance festival, shared that his eyes were glued to the expressions, the makeup, the jewellery of the performers and how they were telling stories through these visual elements. “It was such a powerful visual experience. I mean, I couldn’t take my eyes off the visual of artists moving like a painting on the stage.” The costumes, makeup, and jewellery weren’t just adornments; they were integral to the story, adding layers to the emotional tapestry unfolding on stage.

Even elements like costumes or dance shoes can carry narrative weight. Sandip Soparrkar, a ballroom dancer, points out the cultural and symbolic meaning of footwear in international dance. “Shoes are more than attire. They represent a dancer’s first commitment to the floor. There’s mythology there too—a quiet story we don’t always notice.”

A shared language, without words

Dance as storytelling may look different across genres, but it speaks a universal language of connection. Whether drawing from epics like the Ramayana or abstract ideas like longing and resilience, performers use the grammar of rhythm and expression to evoke shared human experiences.

“There’s a reason dance has survived through centuries,” says Sen. “It carries our collective memory. When I perform, I’m telling my story—but also that of my teacher, my tradition, my culture. It’s all layered into the movement.”

Ahead of International Dance Day, layered storytelling will take centre stage at different events in Mumbai. It won't be announced or narrated. It will be danced, felt, and remembered—in silence, in rhythm, in stillness.

For many who return year after year, that’s the beauty of such festivals. Not just a showcase of dance, but a gathering of stories—told with the body, heard with the soul.